Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of equipment control.
Description of the Background Art
Various types of equipment/machinery can be operated and controlled by using some kind of control mechanism. For example, the control mechanism can use a variety of different systems, such as hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems, and/or other types of systems. Furthermore, the control mechanism may include different types of valves, pumps, motors, reservoirs, and/or other components to implement the control mechanism.
For example, in the agriculture industry, there are many types of tillage tools that are controlled and operated using a control mechanism. These tillage tools can be designed to be towed behind a vehicle, such as a tractor, so as to prepare a field to facilitate in the planting of crops. The control of the tillage tools may be provided, for example, by a hydraulic supply located on the vehicle. The vehicle can tow and control multiple tillage tools.
Some tillage tools may have a wing fold system associated with a lifting system that uses a single hydraulic system for control and operation of the tillage tool. Accordingly, the single hydraulic system can simultaneously raise the tillage tool and fold the wings upwards so as to transport the tillage tool. This simultaneous functionality may not always be desirable. Each time the tillage tool is raised, a load is created in the wing folding linkage of the tillage tool. This results in unnecessary stress and fatigue upon the wing folding linkage as the wing fold linkage does not need to become loaded for in-field performance. This is further shown in FIG. 1 which describes how when lowering the machine first and then unfolding the wings, the wings contact the ground prior to complete unfolding which results in additional stress.
Other issues can occur as a result of when a tillage tool is lowered prior to unfolding the wings. For example, the ground engaging portions of the tillage tool are pinched into the ground which causes stress on the frames of the tillage tool. While this can be alleviated by driving the vehicle forward as the wings are being unfolded, this can be time consuming and also requires a large area of land to properly unfold the machine.
A number of existing kits allow for optimized control of various tillage tools. For example, a dual hydraulic kit can optimize hydraulic functionality; however, this requires two hydraulic power sources. Another existing solution is a wing lockout kit that blocks hydraulic oil from the wing fold circuit while allowing for the raising and lowering of the machine during operation. However, the wing lockout kit requires the operator to manually control a valve each time the operator needs to enter or exit a field that requires tilling.